Published 4:00 am, Friday, December 2, 2011

Verizon just spent $3.6 billion to buy up a bunch of wireless spectrum that several cable operators have been sitting on since 2006.

The new spectrum will help Verizon build out its data network services, and give it an edge on arch rival AT&T, whose bid to get more spectrum by buying T-Mobile is probably going to be blocked by regulators.

Comcast is getting the lion's share of the payment -- about $2.3 billion. TIme Warner Cable will get $1.1 billion and Bright House Networks is getting $189 million. The three companies are part of a coalition called SpectrumCo, and owned 122 wireless licenses covering more than 200 million points of presence.